IT IS SO HOT HERE. Today it was around 110 more or less and we had an event at one of the smaller universities here in Merida. We did HIV testing along with pre and post test counseling, we were there from about 11-3 and it was a pretty typical day of testing from what I understand. This students were a lot of fun to work with. The event was hosted by a group called Merida Joven. It is a group that is government funded and supported, they organize events and then invite nonprofits to come. They even took us out to lunch today, so techinically I had lunch on the Mayor of Merida today.  I have never attended an event here but I have in the US, from what I have experienced it is much more relaxed here. I thought I was just going to be handing out paperwork and processing paperwork after it was handed back, but I ended up doing testing instead. They all probably thought I was some 12 year old kid doing HIV tests on people, I am sure that was reassuring. I heard we had way less people do tests than usual, I hope it wasn't my fault...Over all the event was a huge success, we were even on the news here and the President of the board, Dr. Crofoot,  was invited to the Mayors office to meet with some officials there and from what I understand they have the utmost respect for him. Getting the Government on board with projects like this is so important and hasn't always been the easiest thing. 

Anyway, back to lunch. We ate at this amazing traditional Yucatecan restaurant that had iguanas and other giant reptilians walking around freely.  As some of you already know, I recently had a lizard stow away in my pants, so initially I had a little bit of anxiety of the giant reptiles crawling around but I am happy to say it did not last long. The restaurant was an open air building, so no walls or anything just a thatched roof, and they had all different kinds of fruit and nut trees. They even had a cashew tree. I had no idea they grew in the way they do. Since I knew I wouldnt be able to describe it I took a picture.

It is raining now so hopefully it will cool things down here. I hope it doesnt rain to much now because I can already see the water coming in under the door and I dont want my apartment to flood. 

First Day(s) in Merida

5/25/09

So, Megan and I arrived very late last night. Lucca and Dr. Carlos picked us up from the airport and took us to the apartment. The landlords, Tito and Nestor, were there waiting for us and helped us get settled in a little bit. After they went home Carlos and Lucca showed us how to work everything...even the shower. We have an electric shower...We still dont really know how to use it or what it really means. There is a switch we have to turn on if we want hot water but I still haven't been successful in getting any hot (or even warm) water. It has been well over 100 degrees so I haven't really wanted hot water anyway. Megan and I unpacked and watched Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives in spanish, then went to bed. 

Today I woke up early did some Yoga and while Megan was still sleeping, we were supposed to have an event to work at today but it got rescheduled so we had extra time in the morning to sleep in and relax. Carlos came over to take us on an adventure around the city so we would know how to take the bus around on our own. We took the bus to the store, which I am embarrassed to say was Walmart, and it was like sitting in a sauna. We had to do "butt checks" when we got off the bus to make sure we didnt look like we peed on ourselves. We picked up a couple of things for the apartment and got some groceries that will hopefully last us through the week. I bought a lot of spaghetti so I know I can live off that for a while. Luckily, we got a ride back from the grocery store so we didnt have to take the sauna back during rush hour. I dont plan on going to Walmart anymore so I am not to worried about having to know how to get back...from what I understand from Carlos you just wave the bus down if there arent any "bus stands" around. We'll see how that goes. 

We just took it easy tonight and didn't really do that much. I had to soak the fruits and veggies in iodine to kill something...Im not quite sure what...but it took all night pretty much. But it is nice to have fresh fruits and veggies to eat for tomorrow and the rest of the week. I bought a lot of grapes...I hope I can eat them all before they go bad. The apartment is starting to look like a real home now, it has food in it. Hooray and Goodnight.